Earning My Keep [Eaglepaw Training Thread]

[Mica]

Eaglepaw Training
Mentor: Fadingsun [@/occultation]

Required Trainings [0/5]:
- Land Hunting [0/1] - x
- Water Hunting [0/1] -
- Battle Training [0/1] -
- Swimming Lesson [1/1] - x

Territory Tours:
- WindClan -
- ThunderClan - x
- ShadowClan - x

Other:
- Battles
- Plot events
> rc picnic
- Patrols
> Herb Patrol - Haven Springs [Duskleaf, Nightshard]
> Herb Patrol - Haven Springs [Mistyshard, Sharkhail]
> Border Patrol - Saltmeadow Marsh [Pigeonpelt]
> Herb Patrol - RiverClan Territory [Cloudbass, Minkpaw, Morningmimic]

Clan meetings [2/2]:
- March 2024
- April 2024

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 6 moons | 7/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @Cherry~ ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Today was the day. The meeting where Eaglepaw had recieved her apprentice rank and gotten her mentor had been... eventful. Not only was her mentor the freaking deputy, but it seemed as though certain cats were less than thrilled about it. The whole situation made her nervous, but the golden tabby tried to shake all nerves from her fur as she stepped out into the chilly late leafbare morning. Today was the day.

Eaglepaw poked her head into the warrior's den, a sudden flare of anxiety making her hesitate. Should she even be waking up the deputy?? He was so important, surely he would come get her for training when he was ready--no. Eaglepaw wasn't going to put her training in the paws of another cat without taking initiative. After being left behind by family and friends alike, she wouldn't let the same mistake happen again.

"Fadingsun?" She called quietly into the den. "I'm ready when you are."

[SO sorry for the double ping, just realized I hadn't put the tracker in the thread haha]

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Fadingsun had spent the entire night by himself out in the territory, wide awake with no desire to be anywhere near the camp. The chaos of the meeting was still fresh in his mind, and it was still something he didn't wish to properly deal with at this point.

He'd only been asleep for a short while when Eaglepaw's voice roused him. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he slowly made out her form at the entrance to the den, slowly coming into focus. The deputy (it still felt strange to think of himself as that) wanted to tell her to just come back later, but that wouldn't be proper.

So, he pushed away his exhaustion and hauled himself out of his nest. "Right. Let's go for a tour of the territory first; it's good for you to get to know the territory you'll be defending for the rest of your life."

With that, the black-and-orange tom headed out of the den and subsequently the camp. As they walked towards their first destination, he said, "I hope you don't think of me differently for being the deputy. I'm just like any other warrior when it comes to being your mentor; all I want is for you to learn and succeed."

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 6 moons | 8/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @Cherry~ ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Oh dear, he looked very sleepy. Eaglepaw hoped she hadn't woken him from a nice dream... he looked rather ragged, now that she was getting a good look at him. Had he slept at all last night? The tabby felt extraordinarily bad about waking him up now, unconsciously folding in on herself as the pair padded out of camp.

Though, the moment she stepped out of camp, all of Eaglepaw's nerves were forgotten. In the early morning light, the forest was painted a soft blue. Early birds were waking in their nests, and the burble of the river echoed through the trees. Eaglepaw couldn't help the grin that stretched across her face.

Fadingsun's words echoed through her skull, and the large apprentice rapidly shook her head. "Oh no, no it doesn't change how I think of you," she lied, "though I'll do my best to prove I'm worthy of being your apprentice." She grinned up at him.

As they continued traveling, Eaglepaw seemed entraptured with the territory. "Even as an apprentice... it's still so huge." She spun in a slow circle as they walked. "Last time I was out here was during the raid." The admission slipped absently from her mouth before she could stop it, and she froze. "Er, I can't get in trouble fer sneaking out of camp like a moon ago, right? It was fer a good cause, promise!" She held her head a little higher, remembering the praise Dusklion had given her when she revealed her purpose of dodging out of camp. "I stole herbs from the ThunderClan medicine cats ta help our clan." She chirped, big white paws prancing pridefully.

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Eaglepaw's words were somewhat conflicting, insisting that his position didn't change her opinion of him but also promising to prove herself worthy of being his apprentice. He didn't try to argue it, however; hopefully with time she'd see that he was really just like any other cat, except with a little more power.

He shot her a look at her admission that she'd snuck out of camp during the raid. The news surprised him; how had a kit managed to sneak past all of the warriors? It was impressive that she'd managed to steal herbs from ThunderClan, but it had been a dangerous choice.

"You've definitely got a lot of dedication to your Clan, and that's admirable," he praised. His tone hardening a bit, he added, "But now that you're an apprentice, you need to always think carefully before you act. If you do something like that again, you won't be shown as much mercy. You could easily be killed."

What Eaglepaw did was good, but at the same time he didn't want her acting reckless and getting herself killed... or worse. He made a mental note to teach her how to fight as soon as possible.

Eventually, they reached their first destination: Rugged Range. "This is a pretty barren place," he called, having to raise his voice over the wind. "The cliffs here are very dangerous, so always tread carefully and stay away from the edge." Briefly, a memory of his sister almost falling to her death here coursed through his mind, and he shuddered.

"Not too many prey animals or herbs are here; this isn't the most useful territory, but it has a storied history."

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 6 moons | 16/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Eaglepaw knew that admitting something like sneaking out of camp to her mentor wasn't really the best idea, but she hadn't expected to feel as embarassed to him lightly scolding her for it. Her ears burned, and they pressed back against her head as she made herself smaller. "Yeah, yeah o' course!" She rushed to amend. "I'm sorry. I can't even fit out of the hole in the camp wall anymore, so--" she winced. "Actually, someone might wanna fix that..." She made a mental note to patch up the slight hole she had managed to wriggle through when she was a kit.

Fadingsun introduced the land to her, and Eaglepaw wondered why this was the place he decided to show her first. It... sucked. She parted her jaws to scent for anything interesting--prey, herbs, other cats, even--but nothing. With a twitch of her nose, Eaglepaw looked up at Fadingsun. "It has ta be a good story to make this place worth patrolin' I assume?" She goaded, looking at him expectantly. She wanted the story!!

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Fadingsun shot Eaglepaw a shocked look at her reference to a hole in the wall. How had nobody spotted that? He'd have to look into it as soon as they got back into camp. Neglecting the camp wall, especially with an invasion having happened so recently, was not a good thing. At all.

He chuckled at Eaglepaw's thoughts on Rugged Range. He, too, shared mixed feelings over this place. On one paw, it was rather useless territory. On the other, the history behind it was important.

"If I were to tell you everything about this place, we'd be here all day," he remarked, his tone light. "Come on, let's carry on."

Their next stop was Lionsbeach. "This is where a lot of our hunting takes place. You can often find gulls and other sea birds here, but sometimes you can even get fish that wash up on shore. Be careful, however, since sometimes those fish go bad before they ever reach our shorelines."

Nodding down at the sand below their paws, he asked, "How do you think fighting on sand might differ from fighting on dirt?"

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 6 moons | 26/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Aw man. Eaglepaw sighed dejectedly when Fadingsun shirked telling her a story, but she quickly perked up when he gestured for them to continue to their next spot.

Lionsbeach, hm? A good portion of hunting was done here. The apprentice peered around, looking for any prey that might be scuttling about. But, as to be expected, nothing was just sitting out in the open waiting for them.

However, the roaring waves nearby had immediately caught Eaglepaw's attention, and she wasted no time padding over to the surf. The air here smelled bitter and cloying, and had her scrunching her nose up. It felt like whatever was in the air was coating her lungs. Eugh.

When Fadingsun asked her a question, Eaglepaw's large ear swiveled in his direction. The difference between sand and dirt when fighting... Oh dear. Eaglepaw thought hard about it, her big paws sinking into the wet sand at the surf. Occasionally the water would lap at her paws, and she would lose her train of thought in favor of giggling and splishing with her paws. That's interesting... whenever she put her paw into the sand, it sunk! Only a little, but she recalled padding up to the shoreline and feeling the dry sand be all soft and unstable beneath her paws. "Er, dirt is more stable, yeah? An' sand is all soft and... er... unstable." Way to go, kid. "'S harder to keep your balance on sand, and harder to move quickly." She scanned the shoreline. How would you counter that? "You'd have to be a bit more balanced, yeah? Maybe space your paws out more? Try not to fall over too much." She glanced at Fadingsun, trying to gauge his reaction to her answer.

[occultation]

( @Mica )

Watching Eaglepaw giggle and splish in the waves, Fadingsun was reminded that she was still so young. She already seemed so mature for her age, probably because she was more dedicated to those she cared about than most her age. She'd be a great warrior, when the time was right.

He nodded at her answer to his question, impressed at her intuitiveness. "Yes, that's exactly right. Sand can be harder to move on, which means that we have to spend time training on it. Battles rarely ever happen here, but we need to always be ready to defend any of our landmarks. Sometime in the future, I'll take you for a battle training lesson here."

Turning into the slight wind coming off the sea, Fadingsun snapped his paw and kicked the sand. A small cloud of sand billowed up, following the direction of the wind. "If you kick sand, or sandy dirt, for that matter, it will cloud up like that. You can also kick sand itself at your opponent. Quick strikes to the sand will generate more dust, while digging into the sand a bit and pushing it out with your paw will throw the sand itself."

Eyes turned on Eaglepaw. "When you're in a battle, it's important to use more than just your claws. Kicking sand, or dust, at your opponent can make it harder for them to see. Always make sure you're upwind, otherwise the sand will blow back in your face."

With that, he beckoned her on to the next location. "Come along. We'll head to Haven Springs next."

Haven Springs was an important part of RiverClan's culture. Fadingsun felt that they wouldn't be the same without it, certainly not a feeling he wished to share with any of the other Clans. Losing Cattail Pond had been enough of a blow; hopefully one day they'd rectify that.

"This is Haven Springs," he said. "The water that comes up from the ground is warm, even in leaf-bare. Because of that, many prey animals can be found here. Scent the air and tell me what you smell."

[Mica]

Eaglepaw
RiverClan
she/her | 6 moons | 56/100
[Golden and white tuxedo tabby with green eyes]
Purrks: Dreamwalker, Herbal Knowledge T2
· · ────────────── · ·
[Fadingsun - @occultation ]
· · ────────────── · ·
Eaglepaw was absolutely thrilled when Fadingsun praised her. Her entire face lit up, and her fluffy paws began doing taps on the sand. She would love to do battle training here on the beach. The idea of kicking sand into someone's face to blind them was something she hadn't considered! But it did make sense.

As they moved on to the Haven Springs, Eaglepaw oohed and ahhed at the warm springs. How was the water warm? Why? Even in leafbare? Did that mean it didn't freeze over? Could they use it to heal cats with frostbite? Eaglepaw opened her mouth to as the flood of questions pushing against her tongue but instead, Fadingsun told her to scent. Alright then, questions could wait! Eaglepaw took in a deep breath of the newleaf air, a flood of information overwhelming her oralfactory senses. She grimaced, clamping her jaws shut. Oh,, that was a lot. But Fadingsun was counting on her! So the young apprentice opened her mouth again, pushing past the discomfort of all the unfamiliar smells and trying to focus on anything in particular. She could recognize the scent of some watervoles, a mouse... some sort of bird, maybe? Compared to the fresh-kill in camp, these scents were way more overpowering.

Eaglepaw glanced up at Fadingsun. "I think there's a bird o' some sort? Some watervoles in..." she did a slow turn, continuing to scent. "That direction." She jerked her head over towards a line of bushes. "And maybe a mouse I think." She hated not being sure. She wanted to be perfect at this on the first try... if she couldn't even distinguish scents perfectly, how would she learn how to hunt???? Eaglepaw swallowed thickly, the stimulation of so many scents at once making her a little dizzy. As she focused on her breathing, she slowly calmed, her tense form loosening a little. She didn't want to seem like a panicked kit in front of her mentor.